Moving On
by deomniallyd
Summary: Cal regrets how he treated Rose, but now it's time for both of them to move on. Rose is ready, and Cal must embrace the fact that he screwed up. ONE-SHOT (RosexJack fic...not RosexCal). (Jack lives!). PLZ REVIEW :D


**a/n: Just an idea I was playing around with... James Cameron owns the characters!**

* * *

_There, in her arms, lay a teensy pink bundle. Peeking out into the world, was a pair of bright seafoam eyes, and the smallest hint of strawberry blonde baby fuzz. The infant was awake, yet she was calm, not crying. Rose smiled at Jack, and they both nodded. _

_"We'll call her Josephine Ruth, or Josie for short." _

* * *

It had been a little over a year since the sinking of the Titanic. 21 year old Jack Dawson and his 18 year old wife Rose decided to take their baby for a walk around Central Park. "I've been thinking...maybe we should move to a place that's, well, ya know...more open. I don't know if the city is the best place to raise kids," Jack was saying.

Rose nodded. "Yes, but where would we go?" she asked.

Jack shrugged. "Fabri says Minnesota's nice, on the farm owned by a bunch of Helga's family. They just had baby Olaf a few days before Josie was born, and the open country seems like a great place for big families like that," he said.

"Are you saying we move in with Fabrizio and Helga? I don't think all of the Dahls will like that very much...us intruding on their family's property," Rose said uneasily.

"No, no," Jack laughed. "I don't even think they wanted Fabri at first, 'cause all of them except Helga [obviously] only breed with fellow Norwegians," he added with a smirk. "I'm saying we could find somewhere like that...not a farm persay, just somewhere more open, if you want," he finished.

Rose looked down at their infant daughter asleep in her stroller. "What about Santa Monica? That's not really 'city' life persay, it's more like a relaxed beach life," she suggested.

Jack grinned. "I've yet to take you there, haven't I?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm holding you to your offer about horseback riding and beer on the rollercoasters," Rose giggled.

"But who would watch Josie?" Jack chuckled, as they went and sat down on a bench.

"I could write to Mother...I suppose. Last I heard she's locked herself in her room in our old manor house in Philadelphia, refuses to open the door, so the bank won't know she's still living there," Rose offered.

"Does the lady eat?" Jack asked, wide eyed. "Or would she rather starve than work as a seamstress?"

"No she eats, but very little. To be perfectly honest, I dare say she doesn't have much of an appetite these days anyway," Rose replied, gently pushing the stroller back and forth to rock Josie.

Jack nodded. "So you definitely want to move there? If you want to stay here in New York City just say the words, anywhere I go with you is sure to be an amazing adventure," he asked with a grin.

Rose smiled and slowly lifted the stirring infant from the stroller. "Santa Monica. Ever since our conversation on Titanic's boat deck last year...I've been dreaming of going there and doing all of those things with you," she told him.

"Then that's where we'll go," Jack grinned. He glanced down at his pocket watch, that he'd stolen from a British aristocrat two years before. "Oh shit! The gallery opens in fifteen minutes and I've got to be there, I'll see you later," he said, softly pecking her forehead and then Josie's, before rushing off.

What neither Rose nor Jack noticed, was that someone had been watching them from afar. As soon as Jack was out of sight and earshot, Caledon Hockley emerged from behind some bushes. He wore a navy blue pinstriped suit and carried his best walking stick.

Coming slowly closer, he noticed how much Rose's appearance had changed from when he'd last seen her on the Carpathia. Her flaming red hair was still gorgeous as always, but she pinned it up with regular pins, versus elegant hair clips. Also, instead of expensive gowns from Paris, she wore a plain cream colored dress.

The last, and most major difference, was that she actually looked..._happy. _Cal did a double take when he saw another face cradled in her arms. _Scratch that...she has a...baby! _He changed his mind, the baby was definitely the most major difference, considering she was still a virgin when he'd been engaged to her.

"Rose..." he breathed out her name, ever so gently laying his hand on her shoulder. "How long I've searched for you."

"Who the..." Rose turned sharply, and nearly fainted off the bench when she saw him. "Cal...what the hell are you doing here?" The baby was looking at him curiously, and her little lip trembled as if she might start wailing at any given second, as babies do.

Cal cringed at the tiny girl's striking resemblance to not just her mother, but also gutter rat Dawson. "I am here because I've decided that I don't care if you're a whore to a gutter rat. I still love you, and I needed to see you. After all this time, wondering if you were alive, wondering if I could find you and bring you back to the altar with me after all," he explained.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't be absurd. Can you not see that I'm the mother to Jack's child? I couldn't marry you now even if I wanted to, and believe me, I'd still try to jump off the back of a ship if I did have to marry you," she snapped.

"I overheard your conversation, is it true?" Cal asked desperately, after a few seconds of silence.

"Is what true?" Rose asked confused, looking at him like he was insane.

"That you're leaving New York City, and moving to Santa Monica," Cal replied softly.

"Yes," Rose nodded.

"Please darling, I've searched so long! You must give me something, I need closure, I regret how badly I treated you..." Cal begged. He'd shocked himself when he begged the girl he'd called a pathetic whore in a week long tirade to his father after the sinking. He was so above her, yet he needed her.

"Don't call me that Cal, like I'm your princess to show off to your Harvard friends. I'm married to Jack. You should regret how you treated me, you acted like an obnoxious asshole the entire time we were engaged. I don't think I can give you the type of closure you're looking for," Rose snapped.

"I understand that, Rose. But please...just let me leave with a shred of dignity. Isn't there anything I can do for closure?" Cal asked desperately.

Rose thought for a second. "Well...you could apologize," she said.

Cal's head whipped around to face her. "A-Apologize?" he stammered.

"Yes," Rose nodded.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so, so, sorry for the way I acted towards you," Cal sighed. He hated this, but after he'd said it, he felt a bit better.

Rose smiled mischeviously. "Thank you. But if you really want me to forgive you...hold the baby. Show me that you can be happy for me even though I'm not 'yours', if you really loved me, you'll be happy that I'm in the life I chose to live and not the one you or my mother tried to force on me," she said.

Cal groaned. He'd never really liked children very much, they were simply heirs and heiresses in his eyes, for nannies to deal with and not busy fathers. "Oh alright," he agreed reluctantly.

He gently cradled baby Josie. She cooed at him. "The child's not all bad, spare who her father is..." Cal muttered.

"Thank you. I forgive you, Cal. But now I'm going to leave, and you are not to chase after me anymore. Just because I forgive you, doesn't mean I can ever trust you again. Jack is my soulmate, and yours is somewhere out there too. It's time to move on," Rose said. She took the baby and placed her back in the stroller, they she walked off towards the sunset.

Cal looked on after her, and he smiled. He'd find someone better, he'd find someone who'd be faithful to him, and this time...he'd treat her right.


End file.
